Leadership Resources

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Updated: May 05, 2020

Employee Information Center

Your Leadership Matters

Leading during uncertain times or a crises is not easy. It takes strong leadership skills to ensure our employees understand why their work matters, that we are all working safely, and that they understand the path the company is taking. 

Each week in April, we will be sending you an email titled Leading in Uncertain Times. These are meant to provide you with ideas and resources for navigating the challenges of these changing times.

Here you will find a repository of articles, resources, and self-guided training opportunities focused on effective leadership, such as:

• Thought leadership articles.
  
  
• The 7 Habits Coaching micro webcast series from FranklinCovey that will help put the timeless principles of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® into practice.
  
  
• Mental Health and Well-being resources to enable a positive mindset for your teams members.

Emotional Intelligence Skills for Handling Crises
Patty Mishic, Chief Commerical Officer reflects upon how individuals can be remarkably adaptable and resourceful when faced with uncertainty – as she reflects on a recent excerpt by author Daniel Goleman from his bestseller, Emotional Intelligence.

Thoughts from Patty:
As we all think about the new normal we are facing and how it means restarting in some areas entirely and continuing with our new normal in others, we need to be cognizant of where our teams, family and communities are in the “process”. It’s likely that everyone will be in a different spot of readiness – driven by many individual factors.  It is helpful to remind ourselves of the strengths we have already exhibited in managing through this dynamic time that prepares us for the next phase. Teams have shown incredible acts of community and courage and have embraced challenges with a strong sense of purpose and enthusiasm that have made a huge difference. We have demonstrated an ability to adapt and learn – and change our ways of working -  that will ultimately make us a stronger company. We need to seize the opportunity of this phase to make some lasting changes, keeping in mind the stage that each of our colleagues are in for this process.  Goleman identifies four key areas of emotional intelligence that can help leaders face crises with fewer consequences, lower stress and less emotion.

The Four Domains of Emotional Intelligence:

• Self Awareness
• Self Control
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Management

Effectively Managing Remote Team Members
As we close out April, still facing challenges from the COVID-19 virus, we are taking a look at managing teams remotely. As various states and regions across the world begin to lift their "Shelter-in-Place" orders, many employees still need to continue working virtually. Jay Voncannon, Chief Financial Officer, shares his thoughts on the article 8 Ways to Manage Remote Teams Effectively and managing virtual teams.

Thoughts from Jay:
As many of our employees are now working from home, supervisors have to adjust to new ways of managing their teams. The article 8 Ways to Manage Remote Teams Effectively gives us several practical tips to navigate this new way of getting things done and to ensure that our team members continue to feel included.

"The changes that we are going through may also enlighten us on ways we work that we may want to continue after this crisis is over," Vocannon said.   

Here is a quick summary of the eight points mentioned in the article*.

Managing Remote Teams Effectively:

1. Have ongoing conversations with remote employees on when they should/shouldn’t act without you.
2. Proactively block off time to be accessible.
3. Allocate 1-on-1 time for casual discussions.
4. Be sure to continue to give remote employees important assignments.
5. Ensure feedback is robust.
6. Ask for input during virtual meetings.
7. Help remote employees overcome professional development disadvantages.
8. Be their advocate to the rest of the organization.

Hopefully these tips will allow us to work better together. Stay safe!

*Summarized from the eight points given in the article 8 Ways to Manage Remote Teams Effectively. 

Leadership Traits: Empathy, Motivation, and Enabling Purpose
Randel Mercer, Chief Technology Officer, wrote this week that "We have all observed that people give their best when they are self-motivated." It's a key leadership point he makes when sharing the Psychology Today article Managing Employee Stress and Anxiety During the Coronavirus. 

Thoughts from Randel:
This “driven from within” mindset only occurs when team members believe that they have both a meaningful purpose and the power to make good things happen. One of our key responsibilities as leaders is to create a work environment where self-motivation can flourish.

In uncertain times, it is easy for folks to lose their sense of purpose and control. They are concerned about the unknowns in a situation like we face today (When will there be a vaccine?, How damaged is the economy?, etc.). 

Randel notes the Psychology Today article highlights key successful leadership traits in times of crisis. By “providing open and honest communication, empowering their employees, and removing roadblocks, managers can help make this stressful time less overwhelming.” 

"As leaders, we need to be especially empathetic during this pandemic. When employees are feeling off-balance, we need to create an environment where every team member knows they have the ability to help drive CoorsTek forward!"

Putting People First: At Home & At Work
This week, Andy Filson, Chief Operations Officer, shares his thoughts on Korn Ferry's CEO Gary Burnison’s article on what it means to put people first. Because CoorsTek is a family-owned business with a clear philosophy about employee engagement, Andy sees putting people first as a natural response to this crisis.

Thoughts from Andy:
"I am inspired by how our facilities are not only flexing their schedules for social distancing, but also accommodating workers who have children or parents they need to take care of during this time. It is all of our jobs to protect ourselves, our families, and our colleagues with extra cleaning, social distancing, being there for each other, and adapting to challenges," he said.

He is also humbled at home in looking for opportunities to help others in their time of need.  One example includes care packages his family delivered last week for the homeless and others in his community. They included homemade hand sanitizer they created due to the shortages:

"I'm proud to be a member of these two families: my work family and my home family. 

The Six Steps of Leadership
First in the Leadership in Uncertain Times series, Irma Lockridge, Chief People & Systems Officer, takes a few minutes to share her perspective on the Korn Ferry article titled A Word from the CEO: Leading in a Crisis. 

Thoughts from Irma.
The importance of Korn Ferry CEO Gary Burnison's six steps of leadership for guiding employees and teams during a time of crisis. 

She states, "As we continue to anticipate and plan for what’s next, let’s not forget to reflect on how much we’ve grown. We are all learning from this experience." From my point of view, we are doing a phenomenal job of managing the business and supporting our teams through the “earthquakes and aftershocks”.

So, what are Burnison's Six Steps of Leadership*? They are:

1. Anticipate – predicting what lies ahead
   
2. Navigate – course correcting in real time
   
3. Communicate – continually
4. Listen – to what you don’t want to hear
5. Learn – learning from experience to apply in the future
6. Lead – improve yourself to elevate other

Stay healthy!

*Gary Burnison, A Word from the CEO: Leading in a Crisis

Concern vs. Influence Printer-Friendly Download (109 KB, PDF)

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Click on image to enlarge.

Fill out the circles of concern with your family. List your concerns in the outer circle, and your influences (actions you can take) in the center.